Thursday, December 27, 2012

Saudi Arabia National Guard ordered 68 MPCV air defense vehicles from French company Lohr

According to French financial daily "Les Echos", the Saudi Arabian National Guard ordered 68 MPCV air defense vehicles from French company Lohr. Very little information is avaiblable on this specific vehicle, however Army Recognition saw it during Eurosatory 2012 back in June. We are therefore able to provide some details on this little-known vehicle.

The MPCV (Multi-Purpose Combat Vehicle), based on a Mercedes Unimog 5000 chassis, is an armored high-mobility 4x4 vehicle offered by SOFRAME (Lohr group). It is designed for a crew of four to ten men depending on its configuration and missions.

The version that has been ordered by Saudi Arabia National Guard is fitted with an MBDA turret which comprises:
» MBDA's MISTRAL 2 Surface-to-Air missiles
» A12.7mm self-defence machine gun
» An electro-optic sensor suite
» A fire control system
» Communication systems

MPCV, with four ready-to-fire Mistral 2 missiles (plus 4 additional munitions inside the vehicle), permits the interception of manoeuvring air targets at ranges exceeding 6 km and altitudes exceeding 3,000 m. The very-high mobility and short reaction time (2 seconds) provides this vehicle configuration with excellent air defence capabilities against saturating threats: a unit of four MPCVs can engage up to 16 different targets coming from any direction in less than 15 seconds. The system is also well adapted to the protection of deployed units or convoys, not only through its performance in autonomous detection and identification (integrated IFF) but also thanks to its capability to lock-on to targets and fire if required even when the vehicle is on the move.



MPCV has been designed to minimize crew workload and facilitate long duration operations. It can be operated by a single soldier or by a two-man crew including a team leader. Significantly for operational flexibility, MPCV can be operated from within the vehicle or, remotely, through a state-of-the-art fully mobile workstation which can be installed in a building, a bunker or any other protected position if static operations are called for.

The SOFRAME MPCV basic specifications are as follow:
» Max speed: 90 Km/h
» Poids 13,000 Kg
» Ballistic protection: Level 2 & 2A

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